Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to distance measurement and, more particularly, to a distance measurement device and an image capturing control device that measure a distance between an image capturing unit and a target object.
Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-159469 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-366936 each discuss an example of a distance measurement device that measures a distance between an image capturing unit and a target object.
The distance measurement device discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-159469 detects a crosswalk, and measures the distance between the image capturing unit and a pedestrian by using the crosswalk as a reference.
The distance measurement device discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-366936 detects a direction of a curve of a lane mark near the skyline, from a shape of the lane mark. Then, the distance measurement device calculates a radius of curvature of the curve. Then, the distance measurement device measures the distance between the image capturing unit and the target object, based on the radius of curvature thus calculated.
The distance measurement device discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-159469 uses the crosswalk, a pattern of which has been known, as the reference. Thus, the distance measurement device discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-159469 is difficult to measure the distance in a situation where the known pattern is unavailable.
The distance measurement device discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-366936 can measure the distance when there is a lane mark in contact with the skyline. Thus, the distance measurement device discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-366936 is difficult to accurately measure the distance in a situation without the lane mark in contact with the skyline.